celluloid

[ sel-yuh-loid ]
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noun
  1. a tough, highly flammable substance consisting essentially of nitrocellulose and camphor: once used in the manufacture of motion-picture and x-ray film, it is now used in a limited line of other products, including guitar picks, musical instruments, and table tennis balls.

  2. motion-picture film: He was an intense director and a scrupulous editor, famous for leaving piles of celluloid on the cutting-room floor.

adjective
  1. Informal. of or involving motion pictures: a star of the stage who was never lured into the celluloid industry.

Origin of celluloid

1
First recorded in 1870–75; cellul(ose) + -oid; formerly a trademark

Words Nearby celluloid

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use celluloid in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for celluloid

celluloid

/ (ˈsɛljʊˌlɔɪd) /


noun
  1. a flammable thermoplastic material consisting of cellulose nitrate mixed with a plasticizer, usually camphor: used in sheets, rods, and tubes for making a wide range of articles

    • a cellulose derivative used for coating film

    • one of the transparent sheets on which the constituent drawings of an animated film are prepared

    • a transparent sheet used as an overlay in artwork

    • cinema film

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012